We already knew she had an obsession with 'Hollywood,' but Marina and her new persona, Electra Heart seem set to give us a unique perspective on all things related to the American dream in 2012. 'Radioactive' gives us our first real taste of who Electra is and the sounds she's going to unleash upon us. Excited much? How could you not be after listening to this?!﻿

#29 - Judas

by Lady Gaga

I wanna love you, but something's pulling me away from you,

Jesus is my virtue, Judas is the demon I cling to... I cling to.

Here's my original review from April;

﻿﻿'Bad Romance,' version 2.0? Not quite, but get ready to hear 'Judas' just as much. The song seems to follow a fairly similar formula to 'Bad Romance' but it's pumped up more to be a club thumper, no remixes necessary. But she'll probably release a remix CD anyway. 'Judas' has hooks that instantly grab onto your brain and refuse to let go, making it a huge step up in my books from 'Born This Way,' which warranted about ten more plays to appreciate. Any fears for the quality of Born This Way (out next Saturday) should be put to bed with this one. New music is just flying out from all corners at the moment, but it's all quality stuff! 2011 continues to bring the goods...

I forgot to mention that it's a fantastic slice of pop music and the video is one of her best, but apart from that I still like everything I wrote. Plus, I was right about the remix album.

New Zealand was home to a diverse range of exciting new acts this year. Leading the electro pop charge was Zowie with the fast-paced and incredibly catchy 'Bite Back.' Another perfect party song that more people need to fall in love with. ﻿

Little Dragon had a good year. After appearing with the Gorillaz on 'Empire Ants' in 2010, garnering rave reviews, they released their third LP, Ritual Union, to even more critical acclaim. The album is full of beautiful track after beautiful track, but my love is mostly directed at the addictive 'Crystalfilm.' Yukimi Nagano's sweet voice works in perfect tandem with the repeated accompaniment, leaving you almost in a trance like state. You'll never want to come out of it.

#26 - Even If I Don't

by Rachael Yamagata

But when I think of all that we've been through,

Going back to you seems like such a foolish thing to do.

Is there anything she can't do? One minute Rachael Yamagata is an indie rock star on 'Starlight' and the next, she's the singing-songwriting pop star you can't help but fall in love with. The video just makes you love her more. ﻿

A year without some new M.I.A is automatically a fail. Thankfully, Maya became the controversial Vicki Leekx and released an incredible mixtape. Best of all? It was free! Whatever happened to Julian Assange anyway?﻿

Dear Santa, I've been pretty good this year so here's the deal; I'll stay on the rails in exchange for new Cat Power and Pearl Jam records in 2012. If this doesn't happen well... I know where you live. Thanks! ﻿

#23 - Sunlight

by Bag Raiders

When I see your face, it's like sunlight dripping...

Apologies to the northern hemisphere, but I'm so happy summer is finally here so I can play 'Sunlight' over and over... and over and over and over again. It's the perfect Summer tune. ﻿

Let's talk about the video. Actually, let's not. Everytime I see the ending where the blonde kisses the kid from Mask seconds after we see him spewing blood I feel a little uncomfortable. Hopefully you do too! ﻿

Her voice, her words, her style... Lana Del Rey is seemingly the definition of perfection. We see so many singers attempting to replicate the sounds of the 80s, but I'm slightly more partial to those taking their inspiration from the 60s. If you didn't hear the words "video games" ten thousand times throughout the song, you'd just assume the track was actually from a decade gone by. Even the video is shot as if it came from years past. "Is that Nancy Sinatra?" you'd ask. Nope. It's Lana Del Rey. You won't be forgetting that name. ﻿

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